Iranian government contracted Russian mobsters to assassinate Masih Alinejad
Tom Rogan
The Justice Department has unsealed charges against three men it says plotted to murder Iranian dissident journalist Masih Alinejad at her New York home. The men were contracted by the government of Iran, which has previously attempted to kidnap Alinejad.
The prospective gunmen, Khalid Mehdiyev, was arrested last July after reconnoitering Alinejad’s residence. Stopped by police for a traffic violation, an AK-47 and ammunition were found in his car.
Still, the Washington Examiner can report that the vaguely described “Eastern European Organized Crime Group” listed in the indictment is actually a powerful Azerbaijani-Georgian group that operates within the so-called “thieves-in-law” higher ranks of the Russian mafia. Polad Omarov is the most senior member of the organization listed on the Alinejad indictment.
Wanted in Ukraine and arrested in the Czech Republic on Jan. 4, the Washington Examiner has confirmed reports that he is a top captain within the mafia group led by the Azerbaijani-Georgian, Namik Salifov. Namik is the brother of Nadir Salifov, also known as Lotu Guli, who led the organization until he was killed in Turkey in August 2020. An Instagram account bearing Namik’s name shows him in various photos with his brother. A YouTube channel under Nadir’s name also shows the Salifovs private jet lifestyle.
The Salifovs’ riches have been hard-earned. The organization has influenced Moscow’s food market trade, while engaging in extortion, kidnapping, and possibly also drug trafficking. The organization is also suspected of having links to senior Turkish politicians. Again, however, the Alinejad plot does not appear to have been the work of a few lower ranking officers. The screenshot below, taken from a Czech Police video of Omarov’s arrest, shows his eight pointed star on his upper right shoulder. Such tattoos are an order of very high authority within Russian organized crime.
The Justice Department’s indictment leaves two questions unanswered.
First, why hasn’t Namik been indicted? Under federal racketeering laws, this plot would bear culpability onto Namik. Moreover, Namik must presume he is under investigation from the U.S.. Failing to now unseal any indictment that does exist would make little sense. Hopefully his absence from the indictment sheet means he will be targeted through the action of another government agency outside of the Justice Department.
Then there’s the specific Iran factor. Considering that Iran is escalating its effort to assassinate various officials and civilians in the West, at what point will the Biden administration take more decisive deterrent action? The Washington Examiner was first to report last April on efforts by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to assassinate John Bolton. These assassination plots are straining U.S. government protective resources to near breaking point. I outlined these strains in a recent piece on the Diplomatic Security Service, which continues to protect former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Iran tsar Brian Hook.
These plots can legitimately be described as prospective acts of war against the United States. The time for a policy response that begins and ends with a few indictments is over.
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